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  • 1Department of Cognitive, Linguistic, and Psychological Sciences, Brown University, 190 Thayer St., Box 1821, Providence, RI, 02912, USA. Dave_Sobel@brown.edu.

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Children develop a sense of fairness early on, preferring equitable resource distribution from age seven. This preference is linked to social perspective-taking, not numerical skills, highlighting the development of empathy in early childhood.

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Area of Science:

  • Developmental Psychology
  • Social Cognition
  • Moral Development

Background:

  • Infants show early preferences for equal resource distribution.
  • Children aged 3-8 begin to avoid inequitable outcomes, sometimes distributing resources unequally to achieve fairness.

Purpose of the Study:

  • Investigate the developmental trajectory of children's preferences for generating equitable distributions.
  • Explore the underlying mechanisms, such as numerical competence and social perspective-taking, driving this development.

Main Methods:

  • Four studies presented children (3-8 years) with scenarios involving unequal resource distribution.
  • Participants decided whether a third party should distribute resources equally or equitably.
  • Perspective-taking was assessed by asking children to consider the recipient with fewer resources.

Main Results:

  • Children aged 7 and older preferred equitable distributions (Study 1).
  • This preference was independent of numerical competence (Studies 2a, 2b).
  • Adopting the perspective of a disadvantaged recipient increased equitable choices in younger children (3-6 years) (Study 3).

Conclusions:

  • Social perspective-taking is a key factor underlying children's prosocial actions related to equity.
  • The capacity for spontaneous perspective-taking develops during the early elementary school years.
  • This development supports the emergence of a concept of equity in young children.